Greek Translation: “Because thou has kept the spoken word of my cheerful endurance, I will also keep thee from the hour, time and season of one’s virtues which shall come to pass upon all the world specifically the Roman Empire, to try them that dwell on the whole earth.” Comment: The Greek word for our English word “world”, used here refers to the Roman Empire. From the Roman Empire the temptation is spread into the whole earth. So what temptation is Jesus keeping you from that is spread to the whole earth from the Roman Empire? The temptation to deny Christ! The world at this time in history was the Roman Empire! They had conquered most of the known world! Jesus and all the disciples except John and many of the early church Father’s were martyred by the Roman Empire! The Apostle John at the time of the writing of this Book of Revelation was exiled on the Isle of Patmos working as a slave in a stone quarry because of Caesar’s sentencing of John! Christian persecution of the Church began in 64 A.D. with Nero and the great fire of Rome. The persecution of the Church ceased in 313 A.D. with the Edict of Milan with Emperor Constatine. It has been estimated that there were at least 100 thousand martyrs during this period. Remember in previous postings we talked about the unpardonable sin? What was blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Remember to mock one part of the Trinity is to mock all. The unpardonable sin was to deny Jesus! God can forgive every sin except denying Jesus because He is the only one who can forgive sin! Remember the 21 Coptic Christians who were beheaded by ISIS last year? In their hour of temptation they did not deny Jesus! Rome became Christian under Emperor Constatine and became the Holy Roman Empire! Jesus knew what the believers were going to face under Roman Rule for 200 years! He was preparing them for the hour of temptation! So how did the preparation come about for the hour of temptation for the whole earth? When Roman Empire became Christian all the roads they had built throughout their entire Empire were used to take the Gospel to all the known world! I will give you a historical quote on the Roman Empire from Wikipedia: “By means of European Colonialism following the Renaissance, and the descendant states, Greco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian culture was exported on a world wide scale, playing a crucial role in the development of the modern world.” Now where are we at 21 Centuries later today? The pressure upon Christian culture today is to deny Christ! The popular culture, Hollywood, liberal media, atheistic teachings such as evolution, abortion promoters, white supremacy haters, anti-colonialism, gays, lesbian, and transgender promoters all apply pressure against us to deny Christ! Even in the church the denial of Christ exists! Many believers do not tithe their income! Many make a 7 day work week and skip Sunday services! Worship of money over God! The list goes on but we can either deny Christ one small step at a time but when push comes to shove and you have to make a choice between your life or Christ God’s grace will not be their to confess His name! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: revelation
What Color is Jesus Hair? Revelation 1:14-15
This is a non-Biblical source but supports the scriptures with a first hand observation of Jesus. This is an excerpt from a letter written by Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Caesar explaining what happened in his province under his jurisdiction with the Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. Quote. “His golden colored hair and beard gave to His appearance a celestial aspect! He appeared to be about 30 years of age. Never have I seen a sweeter or more serene countenance. What a contrast between Him and his hearers with their black beards and tanned complexions!”
Prayer! Matthew 21:13
Some people think that prayer means asking for things, and if they fail to receive exactly what they ask for, then they think the whole thing is a fraud! Gerald Vann (1906-1963), British Catholic Theologian, Author of 24 Books. Comment: Prayer is really fellowship with God! Fellowship with the Father through His Son! You remember some of Jesus words! Father forgive them for they know not what they do! Father if possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not my will but Thy will be done! We can pray for the stuff but it will perish one day! I can pray for the sick which is good but they will die one day! The fellowship with our Father through Jesus will last forever! We pray expecting but according to the will of God! All Jesus disciples were martyred except John who was boiled in oil and sentenced to a slave labor camp stone quarry on the island of Patmos where he wrote the Book of Revelation! Some in the church today might think they were out of the will of God because they did not die rich with a lot of stuff? Success is more than stuff! The Gold Standard for success with God is to love others and sacrifice yourself for their benefit! What are our prayers like? Lord I am a sinner forgive me as my Savior! Lord forgive them and forgive me! Do we continue to fellowship and worship God through prayer in Heaven? What is Jesus doing right now in Heaven? He is interceding for the Saints here on earth! Satan has no prayer life and is separated from God! The Old Testament Hebrew word for prayer means to intercede for someone else! Jesus is following this pattern in Heaven today! One of the Greek words for prayer in the New Testament means to ask for a specific benefit from God! Send your Holy Spirit and dwell in me! Whatever the benefit it is to benefit others! Pray more for souls and less for stuff! What will be our prayer in Heaven? Praying for those here on earth! Why not start today? An American Pastor Charity and Ruth Harris ministered to us in a church in Denver Colorado back in the 1970’s for two years. They have spent over 40 years on the Mission field in Africa! They build hundreds of Tabernacle churches in the remote villages of Africa! Charity is now old in a nursing home legally blind. What is he doing today there? Praying for others including my family and preparing himself through prayer for Heaven! No one on earth can bestow a greater honor on you than to lift your name up to the Son and to the Father! Jesus said my House shall be called a House of prayer and not a den of thieves! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Israel and your Bible! Isaiah 2:2
Hebrew Translation “And it shall come to pass in the last days in a point in time and place that the Mountain of the Lord’s family household, race and descendants shall be established certain and fixed that the Head or Chief Leader shall be exalted above the hills and all the non-Jewish gentiles shall flow into it” Comment: History will always confirm the scriptures! Future events that will become history also will confirm your Bible! Last year 2016 Israel had about 3 million visitors! Isaiah wrote this prophecy about 2700 years ago! Israel has also gotten unwanted visitors like the Babylonians, Assyrians, Romans and others but was because of their forsaking their God! Abraham Lincoln was planning to go to Israel before his assassination! I think all Christians deep down inside yearn to go their on day! Israel will get a lot more visitors in the future according to the Book of Revelation! During the apocalyptic events of the 7 year Tribulation period all the armies of the entire gentile world will invade her! God will destroy these invaders and Christ will rule for a thousand years from Jerusalem with the believers from Heaven and earth! If you miss Israel in your first life here on earth you will have a second chance but this time you will live there not just visit Israel! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
How Did The Apostle John Decrease? John 3:30
John was arrested in Ephesus when his enemies threw him into a pot of boiling oil. However John was miraculously delivered from death! The authorities then sentenced him to a slave labor camp in the marble mines of Patmos! On this island on the Aegean Sea John under impossible odds had a vision of Jesus Christ and wrote the Prophetic Book of Revelation! John years later was freed due to his old age and returned to Ephesus in now modern day Turkey. He died an old man sometime after 98 A.D. He was the only Apostle to die peacefully! Comment: If we will decrease Jesus will increase! Most 21st Century Christians think of decreasing as missing a meal now and then or even a whole day! When you find yourself in a pot of boiling oil up to your neck you could easily think I am having a bad day! Especially when the local natives are cutting up vegetables and putting them in your pot! To be sentenced to a slave labor camp on a remote island under Roman guards in a stone quarry might cause you to think you are having another bad day? John probably said all things work together for good for those who are called according to His purpose! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Is There a Bible in Heaven? Philippians 4:3
There is an answer to this question and it is found in our Bible! Let us start with the word “Gospel.” This word originally meant the reward for good news! Then it became good news! So what good news? That salvation only comes through Jesus Christ! The next word in this passage is the word “names.” This word used here means the character or reputation of a people! It describes the names of people who are saved! These names are on God’s hard drive and He has more capacity to add more names! God’s hard drive is the Book of Life! This book is not just any book! This book is a Book in Heaven and contains the list of those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior! It is the only Book in Heaven! Will the Bible be in Heaven? It will be only in the sense that it will live in the people who are there! The Bible is for those who dwell here on earth! Remember the Bible is the recorded spoken Word of God! What God spoke was written down! If you believe the Bible here on earth then your name will be written down in the Book of Life in Heaven and that Book will be opened at the Judgment Seat of Christ! Remember the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden? If you reject the Word of God then your name will be blotted out of the Book of Life in Heaven! (Revelation 3:5) I know what you are thinking? What about John 1:1? The word ‘beginning’ used here means at creation! The word “Word” used here is logos or the spoken word! Now back to Philippians! The word “life” used here refers to the spirit and the soul as distinguished from physical life. (Biology). This position is the highest Blessedness of all His creatures! Now let us put things in perspective here! Paul was writing another letter from another prison in Rome and was commending his financial supporters because he could not earn wages while in prison! Paul encouraged them that they would earn the same rewards as co-laborers in Christ! What you do with your Bible is very important here on earth! It will either pardon you or condemn you! There will be no sinners in Heaven on probation! I would encourage believer’s here that when you take God’s recorded spoken words and repeat them yourselves they become very powerful. If you leave your Bible on the night stand to collect dust it will do you no good! Remember Jesus said to go out into all the world and speak or preach the Gospel. Great prophets hear the word of God and then speak those words! One of our present day examples was Tim Clements! He passed away recently but I knew him because he came to our church in Macon Georgia back in the early 1990’s for a Crusade! Tim prophesized in 2007 that a new president would come by the name of Trump! Then in 2013 he gave his first name Donald! These video’s are on YouTube and you can see for yourself! Your Bible is a tape recorder and has recorded God’s Words and when you replay His Word’s and speak them His Power is released to push back the darkness and at the same time your name is recorded in Heaven! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Earthquakes and Air! Matthew 8:24
“And behold there arose a great tempest in the sea, inasmuch that the ship was covered with the waves; but He was asleep.” The Greek word “seismos”, used for tempest can either mean an earthquake or a gale of wind. Are these events related? Could this have been a tsunami? Regardless Jesus used the air or His breath to command the storm to cease! Let us go back to some other voices from the past! From the lifetime of Greek Philosopher Anaxagoras in the 5th Century B.C. to the 14th Century A.D. believed that earthquakes were attributed to air(vapors) in the cavities of the earth! The Greek Philosopher Democritus (460-371 B.C,) blamed water in the ground for earthquakes! He did not know anything about fracking! Also remember the earth in history was completely flooded in water for months! Noah’s flood! What would that do to the earth’s crust soaking and submerged for months? Perhaps this is why the Greek word became associated with earthquakes, air and water? We know earthquakes can cause floods, fires, volcanos and elevate the earth’s temperature! Jesus predicted an increase of earthquakes before His second coming! Could this increase cause global warming? An earthquake of 8.6 in magnitude releases the same amount of energy as ten thousand atomic bombs the size used in WWII. Remember the earthquake when Jesus died on the Cross? The graves were opened and many other things happened! When Jesus stopped breathing (air) the quake occurred! Let us look at Revelation 16:17-18. Chapter 16 covers the seven vial judgments released upon the earth! Notice the seventh angel poured out his vial out into the air! Then God spoke it is done or finished and then the largest earthquake ever recorded in history took place! Jesus said in Luke 21:11, “there shall be earthquakes in diverse places and great signs from Heaven.” Remember Paul and Silas in prison? Acts 16:25-26. Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises to God! Your praises and prayers involve breath or air! Suddenly an earthquake came and freed them from prison! God can use a supernatural event to save you or destroy you! Without breath we die! God breathed into man the breath of life! Creation involved air as God spoke it into existence! When a baby is born it is slapped on the bottom to get it to breath! When opposing winds collide they form cyclones or a tornado! Opposing words between nations can cause a war! Words are important because they can either pollute the air or fragrance it! Remember when the Holy Spirit came as Jesus had promised? The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples as a mighty rushing wind! We can repeat Jesus words with our breath or we can speak our own words in destruction! Use the breath God gave you to praise Him! Your life and others will be changed! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Crowns! Revelation 4:10
In the Kingdom of Heaven it is His work that will be crowned, not yours! Anything in you that He has not wrought Himself will count for nothing! Johannes Tauler (1300-1361). Comment: This statement might let the hot air out of your balloon? Just a piece of humble pie will help us! Let us look at Revelation 4:10 The events described in Chapter four is the Rapture of the Church! The earthly residence of the Church is moved to Heaven! There are other scriptures that support this like the dead in Christ being raised first! The events found in this chapter are astounding to say the least! People are not falling to sleep in church here! Part of the scene here is the 24 elders clothed in white rainment and having gold crowns on their heads! Old is gold especially in Heaven! Remember the Sanhedrin was made up of 70 elders who many believe the Apostle Paul had been a member. We get our word Presbyterian from this Greek word! The elders were worshiping Christ around the Throne of God! Then they cast down their crowns before the Throne of God! There are different root words used in our Bible for our English word crowns! The word used here is not a King’s crown! Tell me more? It is a crown given to those as would have won a military battle! You might call it the Medal of Honor! The crown was woven of oak or ivory! Wood was used like in the Cross or the crown of thorns. Then it was dipped in gold! You have probably heard of the oak leaf cluster! Given to brave soldiers in battle! The 24 elders had enough sense to know that they conquered in Jesus Name! So this old theologian who lived in the 1300’s got it right! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
First & Last? Isaiah 44:6
What did God mean here? We probably have a general idea! Elementary Watson! Let us break the Hebrew words down for a deeper understanding! The word “First”, used here means to be foremost in order of rank! It is like a new year! Remember God instructed Moses to set up the Tabernacle in the first month! Remember Satan’s Kingdom also has an order of rank! Remember in the Book of Genesis (First Book), that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the Serpent! That is the birth of Christ would accomplish this! Satan is the head or first in rank in the Kingdom of Serpents! What about the word last? No one likes to be last! This is an interesting word in Hebrew! It means to follow as facing the east! God is going to see tomorrow! He watches the sunset and will see the sunrise! His days are not numbered! Do you remember something about Jesus saying he is the first and the last? (Revelation 22:13) He said i am the Alpha and the Omega! Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet but interestingly has a Hebrew origin! Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet! What did Jesus mean by saying he was the first? From the Greek we learn that he is first in importance! Is he first in your life? What did Jesus mean by saying i am last? According to the Greek it means he is the finalist in rank and time! He is the only guy left standing! He is on the gold metal stand and no rivals! Jesus goes on to say in this verse that he is the beginning and the end! The word beginning used here means he is the first in order of time, place and rank! Remember those hard headed Jews did not get it when he said before Abraham i was! The word end means that he is the goal. Is he your goal? A running back in the NFL has only one objective! He needs to cross the goal line! The Cross of Jesus will get you across the goal line! The word end used here means to a conclusion! What one word would represent the conclusion of your life? Debt? Pain? Sickness? Death? Fear? Guilt? If you prioritize your life where Jesus is first and last in your life these evil spirits will die at the Cross! Remember the scripture that says the first will be last and the last first? They are the same thing! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
New Revelation on the Clinton Foundation!
It is hard to get information about the Clinton Foundation because it is set up in Canada where under Canadian law they do not have to disclose donors! What happened to transparency? You have to sue Obama to get something that is to be provided to the citizens by Constitutional law! Anyway through law suits under the Freedom of Information Act under our Constitution information is slowly being released! What we have learned is that the Clinton Foundation is spending on itself as a proclaimed charity 90 percent of all income taken in! Ten percent of collected funds go to charities! I would like to know the names of those charities? This is an example of Santa Claus turning into a scrooge! Santa delivers 10 gifts to the children on Christmas morning and keeps 90 gifts for himself? We need to ask ourselves as Christian’s how much of our income do we spend on ourselves? How much does the ministry you support spend on themselves? To be a good steward it is intellectually honest to ask your church for the annual budget report! If they are buying jet planes and putting property in their names it is time to step back and pray about your investment! Are they using the funds to proclaim the Gospel, mission work, helping widows, orphans, single moms and homeless people on the outer fringes of our culture? Our income requires time and we have only so much of it before we stand before Jesus! If we amass a lot of money with no compassion for the lost then we are bankrupt before God! The word time in the Greek means to Honor God with your tithes and offerings as one of the ways we worship God to say to Him i am who i claim to be as a believer in His name! A believer who names the name of Christ and follows His Commandments while here on earth! Thankyou. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com